hydro power

[fuzzybear]

  with that much drop and if you can get a permit to divert water you could power one of those type generators. You would have to divert the flow through a trough. Direct it into the turbine raise the locks and let the water flow. The size of your turbine would have to depend on the flow available.
  I've seen people use plastic drums as a flue to direct the streams into their sluice boxes at gold camps. Funny thing with water it speeds up alot when there is no resistance to slow it.  You can reduce the sizing of the flue and speed it up and deliver alot of force.  Make an 8" pipe flow into a 6" into 4" into 2" on a down hill slope and you have fire hose pressure.  Their is still one working here in the north that is made of wood. the pressure is enough to blast mud off of the D-11 cats at the end of the day.

[Tom]

Excuse my interruption, I just had a wonderful thought and needed someplace to put it.

With all the latent power of the release of the Rivers through spillways such as is happening in Morganza spillway and the Atchafalaya River basin,  it's a shame that there isn't a water driven pump and a long pipe line that could reroute that water back upstream and send it over the continental divide into the water sheds of the Colorado and the Rio Grande, to recycle it through Western USA. ;D

Carry on.

[fuzzybear]

The Romans did it so I suppose it could be done again.  But by the time they got done with the studies and try and find the funding and blah blah blah :....It will be drought season then they will shelve it for another 20 years.

[mometal77]

The romans also had a machine that could be pushed and with every mile a metal "ball bearing" would drop out the bottom. 

I wish I could upload videos on here I would show the power plant at home.  The video is short and kinda dark.

[JSNH]

50 feet of head a turgo turbine is more efficient than a pelton. I have a LV750 turbine with 3 -9/16" nozzels I am getting about 350 watts with 45 feet of head 22psi. I have 320 feet of 4" HDPE penstock. I have a 48 volt dc system with a grid interactive outback inverter.

[Al_Smith]

There is some kind of water activated pump which uses the water of a moving stream with some check valves .They used this contraption to fill mill ponds during early colonial days .Perhaps even in the Roman era time as far as I know .

It isn't very efficient but then again the source of power is essentually free .The water really doesn't go any place .Up the pump ,into the pond, spin the wheel and back in the stream .Hah, that's almost as good as recycling beer cans .

[submarinesailor]

Al,

They are called ram pumps:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydraulic_ram

Bruce

[tyb525]

I've researched this some, and it's possible to power you home, but I wouldn't try to sell it to the power co.

I've heard of those ram pumps being used in place of well pumps, to supply water. They will run forever without any maintenance, as long as there is water.

[submarinesailor]

They will run forever without any maintenance, as long as there is water.

As long as there is "flowing/moving" water.

bruce

[Al_Smith]

The one I made reference to was made of wood .I did a google on it but couldn't find anything . Now the problem is I can't remember where I saw it at .

[mometal77]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIFVGq3RFRE

http://www.instructables.com/id/Hydraulic-Ram-Pump/?download=pdf

[Al_Smith]

I wish I could find some info on the net with a drawing of vid or the one I referenced .

In simplicity it was merely a larger chamber which filled with water and drove a small chamber of a sorts which lifted the water .The check valves just let the water out of the power chamber but prevented back flow from the lift mechanism .

It's got to be out there in cyber space somewhere .Mother Earth news ,Firefire books ??? This thing dates back before they had much  ability in this country to cast iron .

[pineywoods]

google "hydraulic ram"  Univ of north carolina has tons of info. You do need a few feet of head for one to work properly. The make use of what we call "water hammer"